Danger days for East Coast blaze
EAST Coast residents are being warned to brace for three days of high fire danger as the Tasmania Fire Service implements aggressive strategies to control a significant blaze burning near St Helens.
High fire danger ratings have been predicted for today and tomorrow, with very high fire danger rating forecast for Saturday.
The bushfire, which began at Argonaut Rd in St Helens more than a week ago, has burnt 7500ha in difficult terrain.
It was briefly upgraded to emergency warning level last Friday as it threatened homes at Goshen.
The fire was last night listed at advice level, after being raised to watch and act for Pyengana residents on Monday.
State Fire Controller Jer- emy Smith said communities should be aware that the fire situation over the next few days could change rapidly.
“The fire is unpredictable and due to the long-term dryness and steep terrain of the bush we have concerns it may take a run on Friday or Saturday, potentially impacting communities,” he said.
Mr Smith said residents should have a bushfire survival plan in place and immediately prepare their properties. He said the TFS may use a large air tanker from New South Wales for aerial support as part of an aggressive strategy to protect communities south of St Helens, including Upper Scamander and Trout Creek.
Break O’Day Mayor Mick Tucker said the council and the TFS were keeping residents well informed.
He said the fire was burning on inaccessible land that had not been burnt in almost 50 years.
“We’re just in the lap of the gods, the weather is going to determine an awful lot over the next few days and we’ll just see if the containment lines are going to hold up,” Cr Tucker said.
“We’ve been very fortunate. We do have a big evacuation centre, we have a big district hospital that is more than cap- able of being prepared at a minute’s notice, there’s another hospital at St Marys, we’re pretty well catered for.”
Cr Tucker praised the TFS for its work fighting the blaze over the past few days.
The warning comes as the Parks and Wildlife Service issues a ban on campfires and pot fires at high-risk campgrounds across eastern Tasmania.
The restrictions cover areas from Mt William National Park along the East Coast to Orford, including Maria Island, and Lime Bay in the south. Sites where campfires are banned are listed on the PWS website.
From today people wanting to light fires across southern Tasmania and in the northern regions of Break O’Day, Dorset and Northern Midlands will require a permit.